The present invention relates generally to systems and devices for lubricating mechanical equipment and, more particularly, to devices used for setting and maintaining a supply of lubricating oil to a sump associated with the mechanical equipment being lubricated.
The use of an oil sump to provide a supply of lubricating oil is a common means of lubrication selected by machine designers to lubricate various types of industrial equipment, such as pumps, blowers, gear boxes, drives and compressors. The provision of an oil sump offers the advantages of a simple and low-cost design which, if properly attended, can be operated with commensurately low maintenance costs and low risk of component failure.
A critical requirement to the efficacy of an oil sump is the proper maintenance of the oil level in the sump. Depending on the item of equipment to which the sump provides lubrication, it may be necessary that the oil level be maintained within a relatively narrow range to assure sufficient lubrication without overfilling of the sump. Generally speaking, the smaller the sump and attendant quantity of the oil supplied in the sump, the more narrow will be the range of acceptable oil levels.
It is widely recognized that oil in a sump or any other enclosed lubrication system will be gradually lost due to leakage and other factors, thereby necessitating some means for replenishing the oil supply at least periodically. In oil lubricating systems, the most common means of maintaining a generally constant lubricant level in the sump is to attach a so-called constant level oiler device to the sump to provide a continuously available excess quantity of oil fed gravitationally through the oiler into the sump as its oil level depletes. Various types of constant level oilers are known in the industry, including both adjustable and non-adjustable types. The present invention relates specifically to adjustable-type constant level oilers.
Basically, adjustable constant level oilers provide an enclosed reservoir which contains a quantity of oil for delivery, as needed, to the associated sump. The reservoir rests on an adjustable element within a supporting base connected to the sump. Adjusting of the element supporting the reservoir varies the elevation of the reservoir relative to the sump and thereby varies the gravitational flow of the oil to the sump to, in turn, determine the equilibrium level of oil maintained in the sump. Hence, the careful setting of the position of the adjusting element in the initial setup of the constant level oiler is critical to maintaining a proper desirable level of oil within the sump.
While this lubrication system utilizing a constant level oiler to supply an oil sump is simple in design and operation, it has been discovered through an empirical sampling that a surprising proportion of constant level oilers in actual operation are improperly set so as to maintain either too high or too low of an oil level within the associated pump. In either case, the end result is that the associated mechanical component will generate excessive heat, causing early degradation of the oil supply and shortening the life of the mechanical device.
While various factors may contribute to inaccurate settings of constant level oilers, one significant problem is believed to be the necessity with conventional oilers that the adjustable element be set manually through a trial and error process. The adjustable element resides within a base which supports the oiler, whereby its elevational position within the oiler base can only be set visually from a downward view into the base, which impairs the ability of a technician to carefully sight the level of the adjustable element in relation to the associated sump. Hence, one manufacturer's installation instructions provide for the initial setting of the adjustable element, placement of the oil reservoir and operation of the equipment to check the actual prevailing lubrication level in the sump, followed by repeating the process one or more times if the oil level in the sump is too high or too low.
A need accordingly exists within the relevant industry for an improved means of setting up a constant level oiler which would be simplified and easier to accomplish than conventional set-up techniques yet would also provide greater precision and reliability to the setting of the desired oil level.